Newsletter w/c 01/11/10
You probably thought I was being a touch negative about my chances of getting the floor down in the shed, last week. I have been proved correct, however, as our delivery of stone for bottoming never arrived. I now hope to start again tomorrow (Tuesday), so hopefully by the next newsletter, we’ll be a lot further ahead.
We’ve started harvesting Jerusalem Artichokes, as it looks as though we’ve got a good crop of them this year. The tubers, sometimes start to sprout by February, if the weather is mild enough, so I want to give ourselves plenty of time to lift them so we can get them to you in prime condition. We generally haven’t lifted them before Christmas in the past. On the other side of the coin, I don’t think we’ve managed to have salad lasting as long as this before. The large bags and some of the standards will have salads again this week.
We don’t have a market this Saturday, but will be at Balerno on the 13th. It’s really growing now, since the village trust took over the running of the market.
As a Halloween ‘treat’ for the boys, we all went to Edinburgh Dungeons last Sunday. They were both very cocky and sure of themselves when they went in, but they were holding our hands quite tightly by the time we got back into the gift shop at the end. We wandered back to Peter and Fiona’s house at Colinton and did a bit of late ‘trick or treat’-ing. It was a really good day out.
We try to keep the quality control as high as possible. This week, if I do end up putting the concrete floor in, we’ll have to evacuate our usual packing shed and re-locate. If you find any marks or blemishes on your veg or fruit that we’ve missed, please let me know and we’ll sort out some compensation with the next delivery.
Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. They are very easy to prepare when they’re as fresh as this and really only need a wash and a scrub. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.
Onion Allium cepa. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .
Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like..They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.
Parsnip Pastinaca sativa (350g). Source of Vitamin C and Folic Acid. Peel the root thickly and slice the flesh. Boil in lightly salted water for 30 minutes. Alternatively, parboil for 10 minutes then roast for 20 – 30 minutes. Here’s a recipe I found for: Fried Parsnips; Trim the tops and roots off the parsnips then peel and cut in half lengthways. Put the parsnips in a pan of boiling water ( lightly salted) and cook for 15 minutes. They should still be firm and not quite tender. Drain thoroughly. Lightly beat an egg and dip the parsnips in it before caoting them with breadcrumbs seasoned with salt and pepper. Melt 2oz(50g) of butter in a frying pan and shallow fry the parsnips until they are golden and crisp on both sides, turning once.
Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea CapitataGroup (1 head). Here’s a different recipe for you to try with it: Preheat your oven to 150oC/300oF/ gas mark 2. Remove any damaged outer leaves, cut into quarters and remove the stalk. Shred the cabbage finely. In a casserole, lay a layer of cabbage, seasoned with salt and pepper, a layer of chopped onions and chopped, peeled and cored apples, with a sprinkling of garlic, 1 clove should be enough, a little nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves and about a tablespoon of brown sugar. Repeat these layers until everything is in then pour in 3 tablespoon of wine vinegar and 1/2oz (10g) of butter. Put a lid on the casserole and let it cook slowly for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring a couple of times during cooking.
Courgette Cucurbita pepo (1 head) Source of Vitamins A and C , calcium, iron and fibre. Prepare by wshing and trimming both ends. Courgettes can be coked whole or in slices, or they can be cut in half lengthways filled with stuffing and baked. Boil courgettes in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes. Sliced courgettes may be steamed in butter for 10 minutes. Halved courgettes may be parboiled for 5 minutes the finished in the oven, in a well-buttered dish for 25 minutes at 190oC (375oF) Gas Mark 5.
Garlic Allium sativum.( 1 head) Good for Vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. A crushed clove of garlic can enhance many savoury meals. May be substituted with pepper if you received garlic last week.
We’ve started harvesting Jerusalem Artichokes, as it looks as though we’ve got a good crop of them this year. The tubers, sometimes start to sprout by February, if the weather is mild enough, so I want to give ourselves plenty of time to lift them so we can get them to you in prime condition. We generally haven’t lifted them before Christmas in the past. On the other side of the coin, I don’t think we’ve managed to have salad lasting as long as this before. The large bags and some of the standards will have salads again this week.
We don’t have a market this Saturday, but will be at Balerno on the 13th. It’s really growing now, since the village trust took over the running of the market.
As a Halloween ‘treat’ for the boys, we all went to Edinburgh Dungeons last Sunday. They were both very cocky and sure of themselves when they went in, but they were holding our hands quite tightly by the time we got back into the gift shop at the end. We wandered back to Peter and Fiona’s house at Colinton and did a bit of late ‘trick or treat’-ing. It was a really good day out.
We try to keep the quality control as high as possible. This week, if I do end up putting the concrete floor in, we’ll have to evacuate our usual packing shed and re-locate. If you find any marks or blemishes on your veg or fruit that we’ve missed, please let me know and we’ll sort out some compensation with the next delivery.
Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. They are very easy to prepare when they’re as fresh as this and really only need a wash and a scrub. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.
Onion Allium cepa. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .
Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like..They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.
Parsnip Pastinaca sativa (350g). Source of Vitamin C and Folic Acid. Peel the root thickly and slice the flesh. Boil in lightly salted water for 30 minutes. Alternatively, parboil for 10 minutes then roast for 20 – 30 minutes. Here’s a recipe I found for: Fried Parsnips; Trim the tops and roots off the parsnips then peel and cut in half lengthways. Put the parsnips in a pan of boiling water ( lightly salted) and cook for 15 minutes. They should still be firm and not quite tender. Drain thoroughly. Lightly beat an egg and dip the parsnips in it before caoting them with breadcrumbs seasoned with salt and pepper. Melt 2oz(50g) of butter in a frying pan and shallow fry the parsnips until they are golden and crisp on both sides, turning once.
Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea CapitataGroup (1 head). Here’s a different recipe for you to try with it: Preheat your oven to 150oC/300oF/ gas mark 2. Remove any damaged outer leaves, cut into quarters and remove the stalk. Shred the cabbage finely. In a casserole, lay a layer of cabbage, seasoned with salt and pepper, a layer of chopped onions and chopped, peeled and cored apples, with a sprinkling of garlic, 1 clove should be enough, a little nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves and about a tablespoon of brown sugar. Repeat these layers until everything is in then pour in 3 tablespoon of wine vinegar and 1/2oz (10g) of butter. Put a lid on the casserole and let it cook slowly for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring a couple of times during cooking.
Courgette Cucurbita pepo (1 head) Source of Vitamins A and C , calcium, iron and fibre. Prepare by wshing and trimming both ends. Courgettes can be coked whole or in slices, or they can be cut in half lengthways filled with stuffing and baked. Boil courgettes in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes. Sliced courgettes may be steamed in butter for 10 minutes. Halved courgettes may be parboiled for 5 minutes the finished in the oven, in a well-buttered dish for 25 minutes at 190oC (375oF) Gas Mark 5.
Garlic Allium sativum.( 1 head) Good for Vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. A crushed clove of garlic can enhance many savoury meals. May be substituted with pepper if you received garlic last week.
posted by thewholeshebag at 2:21 AM
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